Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz are making reproductive rights a major pillar of their campaign.
With the help of surrogates, the campaign kicked off its Fight for Reproductive Freedom bus tour in Florida. The 50-stop tour around key swing states aims to keep the issue top of mind for voters, but the team is also attacking their Republican counterparts, accusing them of flip-flopping on the issue.
In a recent interview, former President Donald Trump promised to make IVF treatments covered by health insurance. He also said six weeks is too early to ban abortions, but his campaign team has worked to clarify that statement.
"The president is simply saying he doesn't like six weeks. He obviously has said he doesn't like late-term abortion. ... He wants states to make their own abortion policy, and that will be his position for the remainder of the campaign and the remainder of his presidency," said running mate Sen. J.D. Vance.
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The Harris-Walz campaign is promising to protect access to treatments like IVF and to work toward making Roe v. Wade the law of the land again.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who helped kick off the bus tour, said, "Americans have shown us time and time again that they will not tolerate a country where daughters have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers."
While multiple polls still show the economy as the number one issue for voters, recent New York Times/Siena College polls found about 15% of voters in all seven swing states say abortion is their top issue.
Past elections have shown that reproductive rights can motivate voters to show up at the polls. Currently, 10 states will be voting on an abortion question in November, including the key swing states of Arizona and Nevada, and Trump's home state of Florida.
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